Ten tiny puppies rescued from side of I-435

They were stashed in a plastic tote and left along the highway to perish. Ten tiny puppies are all alive and well after being rescued and turned over to the KC Pet Project animal shelter.

"He thought it was a nice tote, so he stopped to pick it up. Little did he know there were 10 puppies inside," Tori Fugate with KC Pet Project explained Wednesday.

The man was driving on Interstate 435 Wednesday when he stopped and made the upsetting discovery.

"At the time, they weren't moving around a whole lot, so they weren't piling out of the tote or anything like that. He pulled them out and brought them to the shelter," she said.

The shelter is off I-435 and Raytown Road.

At just 4 weeks old, the pups can barely walk, let alone survive on their own out in the elements.

Fugate said people drop off puppies all the time, but rarely are they abandoned on the side of a major highway.

The pups are lucky to be alive, Fugate said.

"Today was a little warmer, had it been a couple of days ago those puppies might not have made it much past the time they were out there," Fugate said.

It's a little too soon to know exactly what the breed of the dogs are.

Five of the puppies have already been moved to a foster home where they'll stay for about four weeks, getting them ready to be adopted. As for the rest, it's time to eat and sleep after a very tough day.

The Pet Project says the 10 new puppies add to the already large number of pets at the shelter.

If you'd like more information about adopting a forever friend, click here.